Friday, February 08, 2008
New jail near Dixie Caverns on schedule for 2009 opening
The $132 million, high-tech Western Virginia Regional Jail, slated to open in March 2009, is about 42 percent complete.
Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
Assistant Superintendent Bobby Russell (left) and Superintendent Charlie Poff look over a floor plan this week. The facility is environmentally friendly, using a system to recycle rainwater.
Cells were recently added to the Western Virginia Regional Jail, which is less than halfway finished. The jail being built near Dixie Caverns is expected to have 604 beds, which can be increased to 804 with double-bunking in some areas.
Audio gallery
Map
Driving up to the construction site near Dixie Caverns, the slab-sided concrete building looks pretty much like a rising industrial complex.
But a few steps inside let a visitor see why this is a building where most of us won't want to spend much time.
Steel-doored cells line wall after wall, evidence that the occupants will be prisoners.
The $132 million, high-tech and environmentally friendly Western Virginia Regional Jail is about 42 percent complete, according to Superintendent Charlie Poff.
"We're right on schedule to open on March 9, 2009."
The new jail is visible off of U.S. 11/460 near Dixie Caverns, on a 43-acre site tucked in a picturesque loop of the Roanoke River.
A joint effort of Salem and the counties of Roanoke, Franklin and Montgomery, it is intended to hold inmates who have been tried and sentenced, but who won't go into the state prison system.
The 264,000-square-foot facility -- that's more than 6 acres under roof -- will have on-site medical facilities for special-needs prisoners and will accommodate all female inmates from Franklin County, which doesn't have a place for them.
Its 604 beds -- which can be increased to 804 with double-bunking in some areas -- will help ease the chronic overcrowding that has plagued jails in the participating localities. Those are now filled at two to three times their rated capacities.
Poff said a recent assessment indicates that the jail will open with between 500 and 545 inmates.
The local jails will continue to hold inmates before and during trial, and will serve as communication points for video visitation with the regional jail's inmates.
Nine core employees -- including an assistant superintendent, an information-technology chief and a human resources director -- are already on the job, helping guide the rest of the construction and the preparations to staff and open the regional jail.
About 150 construction workers are on the site on any given day. Among other things, they are finishing the interior and exterior, installing the vacuum plumbing system designed to thwart inmate mischief that could cause flooding or blockages, and wiring the sophisticated electronics that will be used to monitor and secure the building.
A massive food preparation area will hold 30 to 40 days worth of supplies at all times, Poff said. Meals will be prepared up to a week in advance of when they're served, quick-chilled and then reheated just before they're handed out.
"It's not like the 1970s," Poff said. "Then, inmates would get a serving of beans, then more beans, then more beans."
"Maybe with a slice of bread thrown in," said Assistant Superintendent Bobby Russell.
Today's inmates' meals must be approved by a dietitian, Poff said. Still, he will be able to provide a full day's victuals at a cost of something over $3 per inmate, he said.
The facility will recycle much of the water it uses, and will capture rain from the roof for some operations. A sophisticated collection, filtering and distribution system is being installed now, and will require a specially hired maintenance staff.
"The days of assigning a deputy to oversee the mechanical operation are long gone," Poff said.
But as complicated as getting the structure up is, "my biggest fear is not the building or writing up plans and procedures, but in attracting a good quality staff," Poff said.
While he expects many experienced officers to apply, he also knows he'll be training newcomers among the 174 people he'll be hiring.
"We'll take an inexperienced person if it's somebody who can commit to a professional operation."
Human resources director Letitia Smith has already conducted three job fairs through the Virginia Workforce centers and has more than 100 applications already on file, even though she won't really begin hiring until September.
Entry-level corrections officers will start at about $32,000 a year, she said. Applicants must not have a criminal record, and must pass a "rigorous background check," along with a written exam and agility test.
"Basically, we're looking for desire and passion," Smith said.
And while "we have done very well so far" in garnering applications, "we still need a lot more."
Poff said inexperienced officers, who must have a high school diploma or equivalent, will have to complete 10 to 11 weeks of basic law enforcement academy training. Everyone will have to "learn how to use the building, our security systems, our plans and procedures."
Training will begin months before the opening.
Job applications can be accessed through the jail's Web site -- www.westernvaregionaljail.org -- and submitted by fax, mail or in person.
